Let me start this review by giving a quick disclaimer.

This is a game for "mature" audiences. There are loads of sexual "themes" in the cutscenes, although it was relatively tamer than I first expected. The worst this game gets with it, is when you receive pictures from Catherine during Bar Scenes. Nothing fantastic, but not something you'd want your mother looking at either.

Anyway....

Graphics - 8

Simplistic. That's about the extent of what I can call this game's graphics, at least during the puzzle portions of the game. Although, that works in it's favor. It's not that busy, and it keeps things just that. Simple. However, the true points for this game's style comes from the bar and cutscenes. The game is drawn and animated in an awesome fashion, and the 3D models look (for the lack of a better term) unique.

If you love anime, you'll like the non gameplay cutscenes, which flip between the 3D models and the 2D anime style that I bought this game for. It's an overall aesthetically pleasing game, one which I sometimes turn on just to look at the unique graphical style.

It doesn't really count a ton, but I love the 3D Model of Vincent in his Dreams (puzzle gameplay). It's a bit of a spoiler... so if you want to skip that, you should do a search-find for the word "spoiler-end". That'll signify the end of the spoilers.

SPOILER

One of the game play mechanics is that Vincent is a sheep, and so is everyone else. Everyone appears as a sheep to you in the dreams, although you can note some pretty cool distinctions among sheeps. You see Vincent's friends, as well as other people around the bar who you are supposed to help in game. Vincent's design is awesome though. He runs around in his boxers, holding a pillow. It's a unique design that still makes me laugh. It's pretty neat, and definitely my favorite model in game.

Spoiler-End

Sound - 9

It's impossible to describe the sound for this game if you've never really played it. I was completely taken aback by the music in game, during the puzzles. It was JUST the right amount of intensity to get you through the game, and it almost went unnoticed my first time through. That's not a bad thing at all. The game does such a good job of wrapping your mind around puzzles that you don't even notice the music unless you want to.

Also a plus is an in game jukebox that has loads of tracks from the game that are all beautiful. You can listen to them in the bar all you want at any point, and it's totally worth spending a couple hours just listening to the tracks they have supplied you with.

Moving on from just music though, the game has the perfect ambiance at almost every point. The Bar has some of my favorite music in the game, bar (get it?) none.

The one complaint I have, which kept it from getting a perfect 10, were how annoying some of the Bar Patrons voices were. See pretty much everything in the bar is entirely voice acted, and the characters have distinct voices. Vincent's friends are ok enough, but some of the bar patrons have some pretty mediocre voices, that I deem forgettable.

All in all, a good score, and all.

Addictiveness - 8

I don't like puzzles. Let me make that clear. When I bought this game, I was aware I was buying a puzzle game. I made a bet with a friend I would not beat the game, and it would just gather dust on my shelf.

I was dead wrong... and I couldn't have been more dead. Or wrong.

I enjoyed every single minute of the game. The game pulled me in despite it being my least favorite genre, and kept me hooked from the opening scene all the way to the final credits (and beyond!)

It also stands as one of the games I have beaten more than once, in the company of a friend, and is one of the games I'd feel comfortable LP'ing if I had the proper equipment.

Keep in mind, this is still a puzzle game on top of everything, and you've got a true game worthy of being labled "addicting".

Story - 10

This is my favorite part of the game, for oh so many reasons.

First... let's give a little background.

In the neighborhood in which Vincent (the main character) lives, there have recently been a number of odd coincidences, in which people die in their sleep with a look of pain on their face. Eve more curious... all the victims are male.

This in game story quickly spreads throughout the town, across several forms of the local media, attracting widespread attention and theories as to the curious natures of the deaths.

A strange rumor circulates that if a person falls in their dreams (and dies) that they will also die in real life...

Vincent is at a diner with his girlfriend of 5 years (Katherine) who starts pressuring him to get married to her. At the Stray Sheep, the bar he frequents with his friends Orlando, Johnny and Toby, he meets a "hot chick" named Catherine (you see where this is going).

Although there are many vacant seats, she sits next to Vincent and turns out to be exactly his type. The two end up spending the night together at Vincent's house...

Beyond that, you have to play to really know about the story... but it's definitely worth it. Throughout the game, you make several choices (one good or one bad... or as it stands Order and Chaos) that lead you to one of several endings (I think there are 6?)

The games cutscenes don't change a ton during the game, but all the endings are unique, and all of them are great in their own way.

Depth - 5

Meh, as great as the game is... there's not a whole ton to do aside from getting all the endings (which is busy work unless you save at certain points, which I did to accellerate the finding of endings).

You could beat the game within a game, Rapunzel, which is actually more challenging than the game itself. I have yet to finish it, and I don't really plan to. It's not nearly as fun as the game itself for a variety of reasons, but puzzle nuts will love it.

Also, there is a multiplayer co-op/competitive mode. It's only fun if you have another player who knows how to play. Otherwise it's just you directing another player where to go, so it's just you controlling two people at once.

Aside from that, there's very little of note, unfortunately it's a short game, albeit a high quality one!

Difficulty - 4

I'm inclined to say 4. However, certain people will have difficulty, and others will not. It really depends on how good you are at spatial recognition and puzzles in general... as well as your ability to remember obscure tricks you get taught in game (some of which are ESSENTIAL to win).

The problem with the game is that they really do you a ton of favors with the extra lives. See, when you die, you fall to the ground or get squashed, and you lose a pillow (life). You start with like 3... but torwards the later stages of the game, if you are good at not dying, you can end up with an absurdly high amount of lives, which makes the game laughably easy, as long as you don't get frustrated and quit.

Overall - 8.2

It's not a fantastic game by any means, but it IS one of the best and most entertaining puzzle games on the market, one I reccommend. Keep in mind, like I said above, I am not into puzzles. I enjoyed it.

There are a few minor issues with the game, but no bugs, and it runs very smoothly as long as you know what you are doing. It can take time to adjust to the concept, but after a while you will be regularly pushing blocks and getting in motion to push the next one.... for people who watch, it kind of makes the player look smart.

Good game, good buy.